Suhrid Barua has an unbridled passion for business and sports. He has worked/written for media houses like Thatscricket.com, The New Indian Express, MiD Day, Maharastra Herald (now Sakaal Times), Pune Mirror (Times of India's tabloid daily), CricketCountry, The Assam Tribune, The Telegraph and Sportskeeda. Watch out for this blog space for interviews, analysis, match coverage, stats figures and much more!

Saturday, May 31, 2014

Leaking early goals and late goals is something Indian hockey has been synonymous with. And Saturday was another occasion at the Kyocera Stadium in The Hague for India to stay revive those memories as they pressed the ‘nerves’ button and conceded a goal with just fifteen seconds for the final hooter to lose 2-3 to Belgium in their opening game of the 2014 Rabobank World Cup.

Vastly experienced John-John Dohmen did the spoiler act outmaneuvering PR Sreejesh, who otherwise had a fabulous day in office.India could not probably overcome their nerves and allowed Belgium to dictate terms from the starting hooter. The Red Lions controlled the midfield supremely creating waves of attacks on both flanks, but they had to counter PR Sreejesh, who literally foiled everything thrown at him until the final stages of the first half when his citadel was finally breached.

It was largely due to Sreejesh’s heroics in the Indian goal that his side was able to stay even against the fifth ranked side. The Indian goalkeeper thwarted three short corners in the first half before Belgium nailed the opening goal through Florent van Aubel.

The Indian forwardline was non-existent in the first- half as play was confined to the Indian ‘D’. The Indian were guilty of spraying around loose passes and losing possession in critical times inside their own half.

It was a transformed India in the second half as India showed plenty of resolve to draw level almost against the run of play through splendid work by recalled Gurbaj Singh, who worked his way into the Belgium ‘D’ from the right and fed Mandeep Singh, who tapped home much to the joy of the Indian supporters at the Kyocera Stadium.

The Terry Walsh-coached side pulled ahead when Akashdeep Singh deflected home a Vokkaliga Raghunath pass from the left, which stunned the Belgians to silence.

The Redshirts restored parity when Simon Gougnard made the scoreline off their fifth penalty corner to keep the contest interestingly poised.Just when it looked India will hold out for a creditable 3-3 draw, Belgium screwed up their happiness through John-John Dohmen.

In other day one games, defending champions Australia thumped 13th ranked Malaysia 4-0, while 4th ranked England was held to a 1-1 draw by 10th ranked Spain in the men's section.

Friday, May 30, 2014

Malaysian men’s hockey team suffered a setback as defender
Kevin Lim was ruled out of the World Cup with a hamstring injury.

The fullback who made his senior international debut
in the 2014 Kuantan Champions Challenge I, sustained the injury during a
practice match against the Netherlands, which they lost 2-8. Lim will be replaced by Mohamed Izad Hakimi.

The 13th ranked Malaysians face reigning
champions and world number one Australia in their World Cup opener on Saturday.

Two Indian players – Ramandeep Singh and Nikin
Thimmaiah returned home after withdrawing from the World Cup squad following
injuries in The Hague in the lead-up to the big-ticket event.

Ramandeep Singh
was first to be on the injured list – he severely injured his right eye socket
and cheekbone during his team’s opening practice game against Argentina, which
India lost 1-2. Nikin Thimmaiah sustained a hamstring injury a day later
leaving the Indian forwardline depleted. The duo were replaced by Lalit
Upadhyay and Yuvraj Walmiki.

Both the players are expected to be fully fit in
four weeks’ time. India kickstart their World Cup campaign against
Belgium on Saturday.

No talk about the hockey world cup can be complete
without a mention of India’s glorious 1975 World Cup Cup triumph at Kuala
Lumpur. And the man, who scored the all-famous match-clincher against
arch-rivals Pakistan in the summit clash – Ashok Kumar – son of legendary Dhyan
Chand – exudes an extra dose of high energy reminiscing the biggest moment of
Indian hockey in World Cup. “Those are my memories which can never be wiped off
– we always recall those days with pride and that was the last time India made
a podium finish at the World Cup,” Ashok says in an exclusive interview to
Hockey Passion.

Rewind to the 2014 Rabobank World Cup, Ashok has no
hesitation about painting an upbeat picture. “Look, the team has prepared quite
well. The new coach got adequate time to settle down with the boys and the boys
are getting all the required facilities. I think the boys are better prepared
to deliver in The Hague,” he quips.

The 64-year-old Meerut-born former stalwart, who was
also part of the bronze-winning 1972 Munich Olympics team, believes the team
have the wherewithal to fare well in the World Cup. ‘We have a pretty decent
side this time around. We have goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, who is really solid and
then we have Vokkaliga Raghunath who lost weight and looks leaner and fitter.
Captain Sardar Singh has plenty of experience under his belt and there is
Gurbaj who is making a comeback after being in the wilderness. This team have
the potential to reach the semifinals,” he says with a tinge of confidence.

The Indian team’s head coach Terry Walsh has talked
about setting realistic expectations and is of the opinion that a top-6 or a
top-8 finish should be seen as a significant improvement for the national side.
But Ashok, who was also part of the Asian Games silver-winning Indian teams of
1970, 1974, 1978, refused to be drawn into it. “Everyone is entitled to his own
opinion and I firmly believe that this team can put up a good showing in the
World Cup.”

The four-time World Cupper lavished praised on
talented youngster Mandeep Singh. “He is naturally gifted and has excellent
goal-poaching skills. Of course, he has to improve his ball speed and can be a
great asset to the side.”

He tips Germany to win the World Cup. “Germany have
a lot of depth and they will be strong contenders for the World Cup.

How about the recent felicitation by Hockey India to
all the 13 living members of the 1975 World Cup winning side? “It’s a good
gesture on the part of Hockey India to honour us with a cash award of Rs
175,000. Of course, at this stage of my career I won’t be spending that money for
myself, but for my kids and family members,” the suave, soft-spoken former striker
fired a parting shot.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

The stage is set for the 2014 Rabobank Men’s and Women’s
Hockey World Cup, which will be held in The Hague, Netherlands from May 31 to
June 15. The opening ceremony of the high-profile event will be held on Friday,
which will mark the official commencement with as many as twelve teams in both
men’s and women’s categories vying for top honours.

The real action begins on Saturday with defending
champions Australian men facing world number 13 Malaysia in a Pool A tie,
which will be the first match of the tournament, while the women’s section
kicks off with world number 5 New Zealand taking on 12th ranked
Belgium in a Pool A tie.

In other men’s matches on day one, 8th
ranked India meet 5th ranked Belgium, while 4th ranked
England face 10th ranked Spain. Among the other women’s games on day
one, 4th ranked Australia clash with 8th ranked Korea
while top-ranked and hosts the Netherlands lock horns with 9th ranked
Japan.

All Pool B games in both men’s and women’s
categories will start on Sunday